Why Microsoft Is Doing the Right Thing by Testing Windows 10 20H1 So Early

This isn’t a typo. Microsoft has actually released a preview build of the Windows 10 update it’s projected to release in the spring of 2020, all while the entire world is waiting for the company to finalize the April 2019 feature update.

This is without a doubt unexpected, especially because as per the software giant’s typical approach, this was the right time to begin testing early builds of the fall 2019 update.

At this point, however, Microsoft just seems to be aiming to make the most out of the Windows Insider program. And to do this, it wants to use every single ring in the Insider program to its full potential in a way that would eventually lead to better quality control and fewer bugs in public releases.

This is actually the reason for starting the testing of Windows 10 20H1 so early. Microsoft says some of the features that it plans on the long-term need more extensive testing, so by publishing the first build one year before the launch means the company buys more time to achieve its goal.

“These builds are from the 20H1 development branch. Some things we are working on in 20H1 require a longer lead time,” Dona Sarkar, head of the Windows Insider program, said today.

But with the release of a Windows 10 20H1 preview build, the Windows Insider program has also become a lot more complex. Here’s what every ring does right now – it’s going to be complicated, to stay with me:  

So why is this the correct approach? It’s because by shipping preview builds of a Windows 10 feature update one year in advance gives Microsoft enough time to thoroughly test every single little improvement.

With Microsoft now rolling out two different major feature updates for Windows 10 every year, there’s simply not enough time for certain improvements to be tested thoroughly. This is one of the reasons features like Sets have been pulled before going live, and why the October 2018 Update eventually became Microsoft’s buggiest release in a long time due to a bug deleting user files in libraries.

What Microsoft is trying to do is to actually buy more time just for this purpose. It needs to be able to test major improvements for Windows 10 from one end to another, and by rolling out feature updates at such a fast pace, it’s just impossible to do it.

For what it’s worth, this can only be a good thing for users out there, even though I think for some it could end up becoming a rather confusing approach. We’ll see what impact it has on the performance of Windows 10 in the long term, but on paper, it just seems a pretty good idea.